A pair of wills, double lives, secret histories, and a family tree of vultures sweeps historical researcher Penny Nichols and a long-lost relative across France, over the hills of Italy, and throughout half of Europe on the adventure of several lifetimes. Click here for more on Rebecca Campbell's The Marriage Diaries.

Celeste is a sophisticated clothing buyer working in London. She is married to Sean, a scruffily attractive writer. The two have a two-year-old boy named Harry, and Sean has put his writing career on hold to be a stay-at-home dad. This arrangement works out especially well for Celeste, a fashionista of sorts not suited to full-time motherhood. Celeste works during the day in the fashion world while Sean is with Harry and all the accoutrements that go with child rearing.

While Sean has put his writing career “on hold,” he is still writing. He needs to be recognized as something other than a “”house husband,” so he starts a journal to chronicle his days. Celeste unwittingly stumbles upon Sean’s journal on the computer and is dismayed when she begins reading about a woman named Uma Thursday from Sean’s playgroup. Sean obviously is attracted to Uma, although it appears that things have not gone farther than fairly innocent flirting.

Celeste’s discovery of Sean’s journal sets a marital whirlwind in motion. Celeste begins her own journal and embarks on a fling of her own while Sean is still waffling over “will he or won’t he” when it comes to Uma. The question becomes whether the marriage of Sean and Celeste will survive infidelity and lust for another. Based on their actions, the endurance of their marriage is certainly questionable, although I will leave that for the reader to discover.

The Marriage Diaries is a book about marriage and relationships and what happens when one considers straying – or actually does - from the marriage for another. The book is comprised of Sean’s and Celeste’s individual journal entries, so the reader gets the viewpoint of each character. I found the best part of this novel to be its wittiness, as the author clearly has a talent for humor. Fans of chick lit will enjoy The Marriage Diaries, which is an overall light read with some serious undertones.